The UConn men's basketball program encountered its share of glory during the last three decades. Only Jim Calhoun was a part of all three national titles and each of the four Final Four appearances. His longtime friend, George Blaney, helped the Huskies to two championships and three of the Final Fours.

Good luck naming the only other person in program history, at least among those considered part of the staff, who shared in the same amount of success as Blaney

Give up? It's Ben Wood, the Woodbury raised former student manager and graduate assistant coach. While Wood considers himself only a tangential part of the 2004 national title he was a freshman student manager then he was technically part of the program. In the ensuing years, he became a fixture on the UConn bench and certainly had a large hand in the 2009 Final Four run and the 2011 title journey.

For the first time in the last 10 years, Wood is calling someplace else home. The 28-year-old Nonnewaug High graduate is completing his first year as the director of player development at the University of Rhode Island. Wood moved on after nine years so he could move up.

"I miss the coaching part of it," said Wood, who serves in an operational capacity and is prohibited by NCAA rules from coaching on the court. "You take this step to hopefully become an assistant coach somewhere. I want to get out on the court again and get out recruiting.

"That's how I got into it, working with guys over the summer, learning the game and being involved in practice. That's where my passion is."

That's not to say Wood has regrets about taking the job with the Rams. He's doing some of the same things he did at UConn in terms of scouting with more hands-on work with video. And he's doing some of the odd jobs that might be taken care of by support staff at UConn, staff that Rhode Island's resources don't allow it to have.

Wood is the liaison with the compliance staff and the conduit between academic support and the coaching staff. If the basketball operations folks need help with finding a bus for a road trip, Wood helps with that, too.

Wood had to step down the ladder a bit for the chance to go up. Ultimately, the chance to work for one of the first families of Northeast basketball was a serious draw. Danny Hurley is in his first year as head coach of the Rams and his older brother, former Duke great Bobby Hurley, is his top assistant. It is a young staff that brings a different perspective than Wood enjoyed at UConn with Calhoun and Blaney.

"Learning from them and becoming part of that network was an unbelievable opportunity," Wood said. "To learn from somebody other than coach Calhoun and coach Blaney, I jumped at it. They're two great coaches, obviously, and I learned so much from them but I'm getting different perspective here.

"Coach Calhoun and coach Blaney don't have email. These guys here have a more modern frame of reference. The interactions are different because all the coaches are about the same age. I've been fortunate to have the best of both worlds so early in my career."

The Rhode Island staff is an interesting conglomeration of coaches. Danny Hurley brings many of the old-school ways of his father, legendary New Jersey high school coach Bob Hurley. Danny spent a decade coaching St. Benedict's of New Jersey, turning it into a national prep school power, before spending two years as the head coach at Wagner. Director of basketball operations Kevin Tirone spent a long time at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, helping move it from nothing to a competitive Division I program. Preston Murphy is former star for the Rams who helped the team to three NCAA Tournament appearances.

There is experience in both the building of a program and the sustenance of a major program. Wood is obviously the latter and is often asked to lend that experience to the Rhode Island coaching staff.

"I'm definitely asked how coach Calhoun would handle this kind of situation or how practice is scheduled and organized," Wood said. "Everybody's input is valued. When you put all those ideas together you learn from each other.

"Coach Calhoun did a lot of it that way. A lot of things got bounced off the walls in the bunker. He would talk and everybody would throw their two cents in. Once we left, we were all on the same page. It's like that here. It's a very positive aspect. There's not just one voice. Whether right or wrong, good or bad, everybody gets to contribute."

Somewhere down the line, Wood wants to contribute as a coach. He eventually has his sights set on becoming a head coach.

At least one person thinks there's a good chance that will happen.

"Ben's a bright guy and he loves the game," Blaney said. "He watches, he learns, he absorbs everything and he teaches. He's got all the tools to make it in this business. Most importantly, he's driven. He's going to be around awhile."

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